Fort Lauderdale Blog

5 Ways to Protect Credit This Holiday Season

5 Ways to Protect Credit This Holiday Season

Amid the hustle and bustle of the season, it’s important for shoppers to make informed decisions about holiday spending when taking advantage of Black Friday and other deals. According to the experts at Credit Sesame (www.creditsesame.com), shoppers should keep in mind the following tips.

1. Avoid opening new retail store cards. Retail store credit cards often have very high interest rates and very low credit limits, which means that even modest balances can harm your credit score.

Fabulous Freebies You Can Get Now

By Barbara Pronin

If there’s one thing better than getting a good price on something, it’s getting it for free – and 2015 brings a new crop of sources for free goods and services.

From the money mavens at Kiplinger’s, check out this list of freebies available now:

10 Ways to Cut Costs while Having a Truly Joyful Holiday Season

You know “stuff” isn’t what makes the holiday season truly fulfilling. Yet each year, despite your best intentions, you end up shopping too much, rushing too much, stressing too much…and savoring the moment too little. Here, financial adviser Donna Skeels Cygan offers 10 suggestions to help you maximize your joy by making small, deliberate changes in the way you spend (or don’t spend) your money this holiday season:

9 Ways You're Wasting Your Money

 

By Barbara Pronin

Almost everyone allows for a few leaks in the budget; paying late fees, spending too much on parties, buying things on impulse. If you’re serious about saving, plugging up a few leaks will add up to cash you can stash.

Kiplinger’s, the money mag, recently updated its annual list of top money wasters:

Is It Legal to Drive with Pets in Your Lap?

By Jenny Tsay, Esq.

Pet lovers and annoyed drivers alike may be wondering: Is it legal to drive with pets in your lap?

The answer depends on your state's traffic laws. At least one state has an explicit statute that prohibits you from holding your pet while driving; in other states, drivers with animals in their laps can potentially be ticketed under distracted driving laws, according to USA Today.

9 Ways to Avoid Food Poisoning

By Barbara Pronin

If you’ve ever had food poisoning, you know how unpleasant it can be. But you may not know how easy it is to put people at risk, even in your own home, and especially during warm weather.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offers nine household tips for avoiding the food contamination that causes food poisoning and related illnesses:

Top Tips to Relax and Save on Labor Day Trips

Looking to plan a getaway for Labor Day weekend? Here are some tips for travelers who want to get out and explore over the long weekend without spending too much money.

1. Celebrate the long weekend in the Big Apple. The Wellington is available Sunday and Monday night for as little as $157 a night. Walk to Central Park or Broadway from the hotel.

This is why we become floridians

Cool Website!

  Periodically we come across a cool website in our business and daily life. We like this one because it can tell you how 'walkable' your neighbhorhood is. Walking is a great way to stay healthy and energetic and we love to walk, so we find this website useful & fun!

Check out www.WalkScore.com to see how your neighborhood scores in it's walkability!

We post a Walkscore on each of the listings on our real estate website, www.LauderdaleHomeSearch.com.

Travel to Cuba - a good thing?

With Congress easing travel restrictions last month for Cuban-Americans, and now President Obama's unlimited travel to Cuba for Cuban-Americans, some are ecstatic, and others disagree. 

Many Cuban-Americans who have never visited with Cuban relatives are excited at the change from Bush's administrations hardline policies. Travel agencies have already started gearing up for the increase in travel that is occuring.